Illinois preseason All-America forward David Mirkovic underwent an emergency appendectomy Saturday night, coach Brad Underwood said Sunday.
Mirkovic’s availability for the No. 3 Fighting Illini’s season opener Monday against Fairleigh Dickinson in Champaign already was in doubt because of offseason foot surgery. Underwood told reporters that, following Mirkovic’s latest health setback, “Obviously, that means he won’t be in uniform (on Monday).”
“(Mirkovic) is going to be out. He has had a continued setback,” Underwood said. “He had his appendix removed last night. We don’t know what that means. Can’t give you any further update than that.”
Mirkovic, 20, returned to practice on Oct. 13 and was easing back into the mix after undergoing left foot surgery in August.
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound sophomore from Montenegro averaged 13.3 points, 2.6 assists and a team-high 8.0 rebounds last season, when he was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team and received honorable mention all-conference honors.
The Fighting Illini went 28-9 last season, finishing second in the Big Ten at 15-5. Illinois defeated Penn (105-70), VCU (76-55), Houston (65-55) and Iowa (71-59) before falling to UConn (71-62) in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Illinois was ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 and received two first-place votes. Mirkovic was named to the AP preseason All-America first team.
